Gutthi Vankaya Kura - Spicy Stuffed Eggplants!

"Aha Emi Ruchi.. anara mai marachi, roju thinna mari moje theeranidhi. Thaja kooraralo raja evarante inka cheppala Vanakaye nandi......... ". This is a popular Telugu filmi song about The mighty king of vegetables "The Eggplant aka Brinjal". Eggplant( Vankaya ) is my first most favorite of all veggies and a lot my freinds have been asking me for a long time for Eggplant recipes in Andhra style. Sorry friends, i know you might wonder why i didn't post any Eggplant recipe in my blog until now, i had to stay away from my fav veggie for a few years for Spiritual reasons. Anyways i invite Eggplant back into my kitchen and life again!

Required:

• 8 Eggplants
• Oil
• Soaked tamarind or tamarind pulp to taste
• fresh shredded coconut / dry coconut 3-4 2 inch pieces
  
  

For magic spice powder:

• 1 cup coriander seeds / dhaniyalu
• 1 cup chana dal
• 1/4 cup jeera seeds
• 10 - 12 red chillies
• asofetedia / hing
• 1 tsp oil

How  to:

• In a thick bottomed kadai/pan, add oil followed by chana dal, coriander seeds, hing, cumin seeds
• Keep stirring and once the chanadal starts to change ots coor, add red chilies and once the chana dal is brown, you will smell the toasted aroma of the spices.
• keep aside and let it cool, meanwhile, take a pot with water add salt and cut eggplant from one end like a cross with the stem intact and drop them into the water'
• Once the spices are cooled, grind them to powder and keep aside
• In the same blender grind coconut into smooth paste, add the ground spice powder
• Chop the onions fine and mix them with the ground spices paste.
• Slit eggplants/vankayalu on the bottom, like a cross until 3/4 and put them in a big bowl of water
• Stuff the slit eggplants with the spice mixture and set them on a plate
• In a thick kadai/pan, add oil and a minute later sort these eggplants on the pan as show in the picture.
• Cook on medium heat with the pan covered and keep stirring until the eggplants starts to fall apart
• Once the eggplants are cooked to perfection, you can add chopped cilantro and remove them on to a serving plate.
• This is dry curry and if you want gravy, take another pan and add oil and do tadka with mustard seeds and cumin seeds along with curry leaves.
• And then add the 2-3 tbsp spice powder and some tamarind juice/pulp and water. Let it cook until the oil separates from the gravy, add little more water bring to boil and then drop the sauteed eggplants! Tada Sauteed eggplants with gravy is ready!

P.S. Everyone has unique taste palette, so please adjust the ingredients according to your taste.

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